26 Palestinians injured in clashes with Israeli forces in refugee camp

Twenty-six Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli security forces in the Al-Am'ary refugee camp in Ramallah on Monday, Palestinian authorities said.

An Israeli spokeswoman said in a press statement that two Palestinian men armed with automatic rifles opened fire at Israeli border police forces, and the Israeli forces retaliated by firing back, killing the two assailants.

Israeli public radio reported that the army surrounded the village shortly after a settler was stabbed near the Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the south of Jerusalem.

On Sunday, five Palestinians, including three children, died in clashes with Israeli security forces, while a 17-year-old girl was seriously injured following Israeli gunfire after the Palestinians attempted to shoot Israeli soldiers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The 26 Palestinians were wounded by live bullets targeting mostly lower body parts, except one which targeted someone in the head, said the Palestinian National Authority's (PNA) Health Ministry in an email statement.

Palestinian sources said Israeli forces stormed into the refugee camp, surrounded one of the houses, potentially a suspect in the attack against Israeli forces, and triggered clashes with dozens of youth.

Israeli forces then threw tear gas canisters and opened fire at the Palestinian youth.

Meanwhile, Israeli security forces also arrested 10 Palestinians from various West Bank cities, including arresting from his home in Ramallah a member of President Abbas's Fatah party's revolutionary council.

Israeli forces had just lifted a six-day siege on the West Bethlehem village of Nahalin, said Bethlehem's governor, Jibreen Al-Bakri.

An ongoing wave of unrest which erupted between Palestinians and Israelis since last October has so far killed 177 Palestinians, compared with 26 Israelis within the same timeframe, according to the PNA Health Ministry's latest report. Endit